Dragon Age: Origins – Gifts Giving Guide (Raise Approval Ratings)

Every choice you make in Dragon Age: Origins will impact the relationship that you have with your companions that you meet throughout the game. The rate in which they grow to trust you is called Approval Ratings. With a high approval rating you can increase party members usefulness, and even start a romance. If you think that your approval ratings with a certain character is too low, there is one way to give it a boost and that is by giving “gifts” that you get as you journey through Ferelden.

Gifts can either be acquired throughout the game or can be bought from the merchants you come across to. With a lot of characters that can be recruited, it is hard to tell which gift is suited for each character. Let’s take a look on the complete gift listing:

NOTE: There are tons of gifts that are versatile. The ones listed below are character specific.

Found Cake – Found with Hound at the tree outside Lothering.
Dirty Pair of Pantaloons (this may be a throwback to Pantaloons of BG2) – Also found at the tree outside Lothering.
Silver Bracelet

As far as I can tell, none of these work with Morrigan, Allister, or Leliana. Being that the hound is already at 100 for me, I can’t test on him either.

I’m beginning to wonder if the Tribal Necklace belongs with Morrigan, as it only gave +5 for me instead of +10 like the Small Carved Statuette did for Allister. Unfortunately it’s gone now so I can’t test it on anyone else.

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Dex (Author)

November 10, 2009, 3:21 PM

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“Steel Bracers” and “Wilhelm’s Special Brew” are missing from the list. Some others are missing too but they’ve been posted in the other comments.

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Chris (Author)

November 10, 2009, 5:19 PM

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Still missing “Ale” “Silver Bracelet” “Shiny Gold Ring”

Otherwise, great list. Thanks!

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anonymous (Author)

November 10, 2009, 5:27 PM

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Deastin is correct: Tribal Necklace gives +5 to Morrigan as well as +5 to Leliana, so whom does it belong to eh? It certainly doesn’t belong in your Morrigan category. Perhaps there are more categories than simple item-character associations, like a general gift category? And this list is far from complete as is mentioned above. Please do more research before publishing results like this. I won’t be returning to this site for any gaming advice.

Ale – Oghren – Gave +6 both times – had 2 of them
Wine – Wynne – also had 2 of them, gave +6 both times

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Asclepios (Author)

November 11, 2009, 8:09 AM

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found a tiara on Habren in Denerim. Still i don’t know who it is for. I tried Leliana, Morrigan and Sten. None of them match.

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Kelevra (Author)

November 11, 2009, 11:03 AM

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I have found some items that are not on this “complete” list. Great work though.

But to some of you guys testing what gifts go to who. Save before you try to give it to someone. If it doesn’t come up with the +(1-10) you wanted, load and try it on another character.

Also, what is the point of giving your dog the bones and meat? He is already on 100% and as far as I know it can’t drop. I usually give it to Sten just to get that little extra out of the grumpy giant.

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Kelevra (Author)

November 11, 2009, 11:06 AM

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By the way.. I have already started listing down every item I find, testing it on every character and then putting down which character gave the best result and the point value aswell.

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Baphomet (Author)

November 12, 2009, 5:09 AM

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A LOG of stuff is missing. Silver bracelet, gemmed bracelet, painted skyball, small silver ring, etc. So the guide is NOT complete. Still, it is useful.

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Enu (Author)

November 12, 2009, 6:37 PM

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Well I found this missing:
– Wine -> WYNN: Gave +9 for me

– Steel Bracelet: Tested with WYNN, MORRIGAN, ALLISTER, LELIANA, STEN didnt match any of them. Probly best for dog as it say it have warhound craved on it.. tho didnt test it as it is on 100%.

Thanks for the listing. I will add them to make this guide helpful to everyone. I’ve updated the list with much more compability.

@Enu
Try the Small Silver Ring and Silver Bracelet to Zevran

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jvitzu (Author)

November 14, 2009, 1:01 AM

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Neither Zevran nor Oghren care for the Small Silver Ring or the Steel Bracers.

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Enu (Author)

November 14, 2009, 5:10 PM

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Well Jon it only give +3 and +2 for Zevran :S Tho it depends a bit on current ratting.. Only Oghren remains tho still need to get to him :P. I hope it didn’t change with new patch we will see (I play PC version BTW).

I’ve come to a conclusion on the ones not listed in the list. Those are the items that can be given to any characters.

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Grimloon (Author)

November 14, 2009, 8:19 PM

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White Rune gives a +9 for Wynn, the Steel Bracers are a +7-9 for Alistair.

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Lithiel (Author)

November 14, 2009, 10:38 PM

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The Painted Skyball gave +1 or +2 to all party members. It seems there are some gift like this that I’m not sure who they were made for.

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Rib (Author)

November 15, 2009, 12:49 AM

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Morrigan does not like the “Gold Earrings” or the “Silver Demon Head Ring”

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Dave (Author)

November 15, 2009, 9:43 AM

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All the gifts have diminishing returns.
There are 3 categories for each person.
The plot/amazing items that one person really likes. These gives 10 and will drop to at most 6.
The items a person likes. These gives 6 to 3 (?).
And the ones that they accept but doesn’t generally like. These gives 3 and drops down to 1.
For each item you give in each category, the following ones in that same category will give one less approval rating.
Say for Sten at the beginning he’ll raise 10/6/3 for the three types of item. Giving him dirty pantaloons will make it 10/5/3. And a silver necklace will drop it down to 10/5/2. So on.

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Alucard (Author)

November 15, 2009, 2:04 PM

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the head ban is f or zevron +5

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Deastin (Author)

November 15, 2009, 6:11 PM

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@Dave:

I dunno. I got 17 for giving Lelianna Andraste’s Grace. So perhaps items that generate cutscenes have an increased effect over normal stuff a character likes.

This is just copied exactly from the printed guide, it’s not complete at all. Thanks for plagarizing but what we really need is a complete guide from someone who has actually tried all the gifts on the companions, not just copied it from the guide.

How is it plagiarism when we gathered this from ground up? There are three people working on our DAO coverage. Some entries were submitted by gamers itself like Sebastian.

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NasalHair (Author)

November 16, 2009, 9:12 PM

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I got a Tiara gift stealing from an orlesian woman in dennirum whos that for

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Crypton (Author)

November 18, 2009, 5:46 AM

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After some testing, seems some items such as giving Wine to Wynne will be best given earlier (when you do not have high approval with them). Wine when given to Wynne when I had only 24 approval rating landed me +9. If you wait to give to her after your approval level is higher such as 50ish + it will net you less points.

Basically, give the “cheap” items such as Wine, Ale, misc Jewlery etc.. to your party members early on and save the plot items for later on for a big boost to progress their story lines.

i tested the painted skyball on shale, morrigan, zevran, alistar, lieana, sten, and dog and it looks that it is a universal gift.

i used with zevran, alistar, lieana, and sten in the red on the approval rating bar and i got +3

i used on shale, and morrigan in the white and got +1

dog was max so nothing

looks like anyone will accept it and it gives approval based on the color they are in on the approval bar. nice guide btw helped me lots

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Justin (Author)

November 18, 2009, 5:39 PM

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^^^^ ment orange not red oops

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Chrono Gandit the Gray Warden (Author)

November 19, 2009, 12:31 AM

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The painted skyball is to given to loghain ofcourse… it is a map of the stars… Maps are for loghain…

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Chrono Gandit the Gray Warden (Author)

November 19, 2009, 12:32 AM

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Oh. I must add i have not tested this. It is just univerial truth.

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Mårtön (Author)

November 19, 2009, 6:18 PM

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water stained picture gave +6 on wynne too.

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Teeem3000 (Author)

November 20, 2009, 12:21 AM

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Thanks for compiling all of this, and thanks for everyone else that had something useful to say. It was all very helpful.

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Me (Author)

November 21, 2009, 2:45 PM

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I gave the Cake to Alistair and it gave me +5 points (:

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Me (Author)

November 23, 2009, 4:59 AM

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And i found another item called “Tangled Ball of Yarn” the dog found in West Bracilian Forest by the Big “friendly” tree.

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Me (Author)

November 23, 2009, 5:01 AM

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And i found another item called “Tangled Ball of Yarn” the dog found in West Bracilian Forest by the Big “friendly” tree.

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Maculo (Author)

November 24, 2009, 12:17 AM

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After speaking with Ohgren and him saying he liked the surface, the painted skyball got several points from him. Previous to that, it only gave 2 pts or so, just FYI.

I’d swear the small silver ring worked for Zevran, but in my second playthrough, nothing, so might have to do with dialogue as well.

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Vinny (Author)

November 25, 2009, 3:48 AM

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Steel bracers go to zevran the assassin. just tried it.

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Vinny (Author)

November 25, 2009, 3:52 AM

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and on a side note, i just found a special encounter where you pull a log out of a tree stump and some lady hails you as king. Cameo from monty python and the holy grail

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Sacralige (Author)

November 25, 2009, 6:24 AM

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Tangled Ball of Yarn gives +4 to Leliana for me and +1 to everyone else.

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Draco (Author)

November 25, 2009, 8:29 AM

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You are missing Garbolg’s Backcountry Reserve.

I got it after i sent the dog to look for something twice in the circle tower, near the party member exchange area

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Sticky (Author)

November 26, 2009, 6:15 PM

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The Andraste’s Grace gave 16+ approval to Leliana for me.

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Sacralige (Author)

November 27, 2009, 3:43 PM

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I have completed 4 playthroughs now, on each playthrough i gave all the dog bones to SHALE wich gave me +3 each time, i guess they’re meant for him more than for the dog as its allready 100% and can’t drop.

The “Silver Demon Head Ring” gave +4 (or it may have been +6) for Sten.

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Jackyl (Author)

November 29, 2009, 5:15 AM

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The tiara is for Shale. For “her” it gives +4 as compared to everyone else at +1.

Shale likes all the “pretty jewels.”

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Rulca (Author)

November 29, 2009, 1:01 PM

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The “Gold Earrings” are for Oghren (giving +4). Presumably he believes the earrings will look nice with his beard. ;)

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Inzhuna (Author)

December 1, 2009, 6:34 PM

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I think it depends on your current approval rating and how many gifts you already gave to them. for me, non-specific gists gave +1 to everyone when their approval was already 90+. Btw, add Cake – it’s for Sten :)

Anyone know what to do with the headband? I think I got it off of pocket picking sanga at the pearl

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Fantesia (Author)

December 11, 2009, 2:33 PM

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No one else’s Mabari located the “Found Cake”? I havent tested who that will raise approval for. Good doggy!

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scorpio (Author)

December 12, 2009, 5:57 PM

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Missing gift item – Cute Nug, u get this from an “Idle Elf” in dusty town in orzamar (or however u spell it) and if someone knows who i can give this gift to please let me know!

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Heartlocker (Author)

December 12, 2009, 7:54 PM

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The nug can be given to “Leilina” or however you spell that rogue’s name. Either way, it’s an excellent give, she will adore it so much + the nug stays in the camp, meaning you can hear it squealing beside her.

To the people saying crap like “I won’t be returning to this site for information or “this list is worthless”, please provide a link to your better updated, more complete list, or kindly and with all due respect piss off.

Having said that, thanks for the list – I wasn’t even aware that the different gifts gave varying bonuses to each character – though I guess it makes sense that Morrigan would like shiny baubles after you go through her personal story chain…

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Andean (Author)

December 27, 2009, 10:57 PM

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Dragon Age Rules!

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RSM (Author)

December 30, 2009, 1:36 PM

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Pity that Bioware decided to send out their game before it reached beta status. I got Lelianna’s approval rating to 100% and yet I cannot get her to show anything but warm and there are no options text wise. Nice going Bioware. Suggestion; next time you send out a buggy POS game like this warn people about your incompetence or at least get the game out of beta status before you send it out.

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Anon (Author)

December 31, 2009, 6:18 PM

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Alistair and Wynne’s names are spelled wrong. Just thought I’d point that out

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Silmar007 (Author)

January 3, 2010, 4:52 PM

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Funny how none seems to figure this out. It wasn’t that hard. Here’s the deal:

The first gift you give to any character will give a +5 extra approval rating no matter if he/she likes it or not. Next will give +4 and so on until you are down to +1. It will never drop below +1. Above this is given the bonus depending on what type of item it is in the three cathegories below.

Major plotline gifts:
These items will only be accepted by one character and they give about +15. Any other character than the designated one will refuse the gift. All these gifts give cut scenes.

Minor plotline gifts:
These items will be accepted by anyone of your characters but will give a +5 bonus if you give them to the right character. If you give them to any of your other characters they will give according to the any gift cathegory.

Any gift:
These are all gifts you give to the wrong character or that don’t have a favorite character and that is accepted by the character. You recieve no bonus for these but you will still reviece the +5-1 mentioned before the three cathegories.

I’ve found a number of gifts that seem to match no character that I have found (and I have all the listed one’s). I origionally looked this site up because I thought I might have missed a few companions. Apparently these gifts are just worthless gifts that will only give the +5-1.

Or there are more companions that none have found and posted about..

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Brandon (Author)

January 3, 2010, 7:52 PM

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When are you going to update this list? It’s a really good one so far, and I thank you for it.

Check back with us in a few weeks. We’re working on our Game Guide page that will be launched pretty soon. It will all have Dragon Age stuff including Return to Ostagar DLC.

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Thala (Author)

January 4, 2010, 11:47 PM

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Seems that if you missed the found items with the hound, “talking” to him at the Arl of Redcliffe’s estate after the Landsmeet will send him running to retrieve them all. Sequentially I asked “Do you see anything interesting?” and got:
Garbolg’s Backcountry Reserve
Found Cake
Dirty Pair of Pantaloons
*non-gift* A Very Chewed and Moist Book (codex)
*non-gift* 22 copper

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naraphim (Author)

January 7, 2010, 5:59 PM

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wynne likes the Silver Demon Head Ring

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China Chuck (Author)

January 16, 2010, 1:25 AM

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“Found Cake, Tangled ball of yarn” both goto Dog, they are not first rated gifts though (no story launcher), lowest ones actually. I never do give these to Dog though as its a complete waste as his score will never go down (he doesn’t get the bones either cuz he has a bone of his own). Just give them to others you need to raise, a point is better than zero.

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DouchBaggins (Author)

February 2, 2010, 2:54 AM

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Gold Earrings: +3 for Wynn

I would assume that they work for Sten best.

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Fireholder (Author)

February 20, 2010, 8:21 AM

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Confirmed, Wynne gains +10 approval for Wine. Maybe it’s because wine is close to Wynne, if pronounced differently… :)

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Angerforge (Author)

February 25, 2010, 8:24 AM

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All those Bones “lamb, Ox, etc.” are more beneficial if you give them to Sten. He tends to enjoy them so don’t waste em on Dog since Dog is already maxed and it wont matter.

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hamie360 (Author)

March 17, 2010, 4:09 PM

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i got 4+ whit shiny gold ring when i gave it to morrigan

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JustMe (Author)

May 24, 2010, 10:29 AM

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all is about the character.for example zevran likes gold silver…,morrigan like jewels(Neaklace)…etc.:D

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JustMe (Author)

May 24, 2010, 10:30 AM

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dont give gifts to the dog.he always have 100%(friendly).dont waste the bones.

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JustMe (Author)

May 24, 2010, 10:31 AM

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the things that the dog found arent good for any party member.give them random

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JustMe (Author)

May 24, 2010, 10:36 AM

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Steel Bracelet:for sten.he is very fastidious so +4 is excelent at sten.if you give him any of the others gifts thiss rise his approval with +2 and then +1.be weary

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JustMe (Author)

May 24, 2010, 10:40 AM

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try to learn the tipe of gift that is fit for the party member.if you learn this,you can rise their approval to 100 in no more then 5 minutes.

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AmySea (Author)

July 6, 2010, 3:30 PM

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The ball of yarn that the Mabari finds is best to go to Wynne, later in the game while talking to Sten, Wynne mentions needing wool or yarn.

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MovieFan (Author)

July 13, 2010, 11:55 AM

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who gets the steel bracers?

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sunnyhell (Author)

July 26, 2010, 10:01 PM

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I dont think that the gemmed bracelet is for Zevran… I just gave it to him and only got a +1 =\

Hi to all who have posted, as rightly stated before depending on your characters current appreciation of you depends on their rating of gifts, I generally find it easy to romance Leliana, Zevran and Alistair at the same time which saved me time and gifts. If you are female kissing Alistair raises his approval of you and so does uh… bedding him…. Lelianna approves of your relationship with Zevran (if you have one) and will sleep with you if you don’t have one.
Alistair – Only romanced by female warden
Zevran – Bi
Leliana – Bi
Morrigan – Only romanced by male warden
Can someone give me the ‘preferences’ of Sten and Oghren?

to the clown who left his name anomynous…. to walk onto a site and to give jon grief cause he may have got 1 or 2 details incorrect, YOUR AN ASS!! how do you have the balls to say that this site sucks cause he may or may not have made a mistake, not every1 is as perfect as yourself HoMBre!!

if you dont like what you see, bugger off!! why slam the poor guy??
i dont see you spending your time creatin any list for us.

Jon, most greatfull Homie ^_^ will put your list to good use yeah

PEACE!!!

ps keep up the good work

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GamingWeasel (Author)

January 2, 2011, 4:31 AM

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Sten’s only romantic interest is Dog. It’s very difficult to get them together though. Keep trying…

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